Internet Connections in Thailand.. are they reasonably good?
 

I am thinking of going for a few months. Are they good for anything but checking your email? What speeds do you expats get?

It's ok :)

The marriot kind of hotels have solid internet

From what I heard they are very slow and suck ass, but I could be wrong.

The True Open internet cafes are awesome in Bangkok.

Also, the hotels have wired connections in the ones that I stayed at with 1.5MB download speed. Can't complain.

Phuket was the same at the Marriot Hotel.

it depends where you are going. In bangkok its fast, in the islands and countryside it can be horrible

Range from OK to wishing death upon everyone around you.

I *just* got upgraded by a new company and now I can download at 2mbps, upload around 1mbps. Before that I was downloading around 1mbps or less.
But YES, we do have the internets!

The downside is, it's totally illegal to download, upload, watch or share porn in any manner, so use a VPN. The Thai police sniff all the time, you can often see it in your status bar, it will first go through a Thai gov or police site, then to the site you are going to (adult or not).

ive seen some weird ips before sites i've visited but i have yet to hear someone that got in trouble for downloading porn.... surely the avg surfer sees way more porn than i do

good tip for sure.

Good to hear there are some decent options!

DWB - Is that so? Do you use your VPN even while on GFY?

Thx for all the answers guys!

it depends where you are...
but mostly it isn't so good....in my 2 months here i approached good connections (good=over 1 mbps) only 3 times in like 30 connection points...but i stay in low cost acommodation :)
and use vpn of course....

Huh VPN slowdown connection even more,i dont think i would be able to handle that.

Good to hear that about Thai's connection.

Connection points; you mean you use hotspots or? Are there plenty and do you buy a subscription for all or?

where are you planning on going? bangkok/phucket/ko samui/etc have some okay internet. but if you are heading off the charts, then usually the only connectivity is via an internet cafe (and some of those can be brutally slow).

I've never heard of it either. I know know its illegal and gov and police do snoop for whatever reason.

I try to use the VPN always but sometimes it drops off and connects locally and I don't notice it. I *try* to stay connected to my VPN.

Welcome to my life brutha. :Oh crap

Yeah I guess all those places roaming around - phuket, bkok, pattaya, ko samui etc.. I would be ok with something where I could achieve 1-2mbits or so..

Wow. I never knew that they were that strict with viewing porn. There have been times in the past where I have thought about doing some shoots over in Thailand but if simply viewing porn is illegal then I would imagine producing it would really land someone in the hot seat. :Oh crap

Don't get me wrong, many webmaster live here and people do produce here. Just know it is illegal.

As a webmaster you have almost no chance of any trouble at all. Still, be careful because you never know when they will drop the hammer. As a producer, you take the risk. Most people don't get caught, but every year there are 1 or 2 guys who do.

i mean= internet cafes, wi fi spots...wi fi is almost everywhere, sometimes you may have luck to connect to unsecured one :).inegt cafes are also almost anywhere, even not in turistic places.if you are going to that places that you mentioned you shouldn't have any problems with inet access at all, just take your own laptop and don't get it stolen :)
there is also option for buying DTAC sim card and you have unlimited inet access for like 30 usd monthly...but you have to have GSM modem...and connectio speed is GPRS EDGE...so it's like yourney to 90's :) - usually around 120 kbps

i hear they sent email by rickshaw

ya, the best. 100 mbps.

Anywhere near the business centre on Koh Samui is really fast. Rent an office in the business centre or use their machines and it is fantastic.

MaxNet is good, if you can get a fiber line (yeah, those are kind of new in the country). True is alright for everyday kind of stuff. VPN slows everything down.

I just got a fiber line from Sophon and use Maxnet as a back up. I still only have a connection 80% of the time. :1orglaugh I do live on the outskirts of town though so I expect it to be slower out here. My friends who live in the city don't have the problems I have.

if you're moving around/traveling a lot you should have a wifi sniffer. i use the 'wifi tracker' app on my ipod touch almost all the time in 3rd world type countries to suss out the wireless situation.

:helpme:helpme

Yeah, good enough to work while you get a body massage...